The Key of the Time Keeper
by Deathy
Summary: Fanfic tie-in to the existing Beasties/Beast Wars plot
1. The Keeper of Time

Disclaimer (aka Author's place to babble): This is a fanfic, I do not own any of the Beast Wars/Beasties characters. Perhaps the only one I created is the TimeKeeper, Trini/Tristar. This was one of the weirdest story I worked on, the beginning and end bits were all figured out first, I just had to put stuffing in the middle hehe =) I swear this looks so much prettier in .doc but too bad I can only show you the .txt version... tried my best to keep it pretty during convertion, oh well, have fun reading ^_^  
  
  
Chapter 1: The Keeper of Time  
  
Darkness. Sweet, peaceful, serene darkness.   
And then voices pierced through it like thunderbolts.  
  
  
"Where'd you think it came from, Bigbot?" asked a voice somewhere in the distance.  
  
"I'm wondering the same thing, Cheetor," Bigbot replied.  
  
"Mmm..." grunted a low voice in deep thought. "Long range scanners didn't pick up any stasis pods today."  
  
"Hey, guys?" piped yet another. "I don't get what da deal is on where it came from an' all.... I mean, am I the only sane one here who's wonderin' whether it's on our side or theirs...?"  
  
"I still think this is one of Megatron's plans to destroy us all!" insisted a new gruff voice. "I say we slag this... this thing, before we all regret it later."  
  
"For once, I have ta agree with Chopperface here," came the piping voice again.  
  
"But what if it's on our side...?" speculated the first voice, the one named Cheetor.  
  
"And what if it's not?" Chopperface snarled in response. "Why would Megatron leave something as valuable as a protoform outside our base, if not to trick us?!"  
  
  
Sudden consciousness flooded her mind and on reflex, began to stir. 'It'... Who's 'it'? Are they talking about me?  
  
  
"Dinobot's got a point, but--" started Bigbot, when a female voice interrupted excitedly.   
  
"Optimus look! I think it's coming to."  
  
  
Dammit! She really wanted to hear more of what they had to say. It at least gave her more ground on whether they were friend or foe. Sighing inwardly, she decided it was time to drop the act and face reality once again.   
Reality, she thought curiously. How long has it been since--?  
  
  
Chopperface's voice seared through her thoughts like a two-edged blade. "Well? Are you one of Megatron's creations?"  
  
"Dinobot..." warned Bigbot--or was it Optimus? Her mind was definitely in a mess.  
  
Slowly, she opened her eyes to the bright ceiling of a domed structure. Seven faces peered down at her curiously. Make that, seven animals! A hawk, a mouse, a velociraptor, a cheetah, a white tiger, a rhinoceros, and lastly, a monkey  
  
"Wha--?!" Reality was startling; she was too stunned to move. Animals talking? Where was she? Who were they? Heck, who was she?  
  
The velociraptor transformed into a robot even before her first word was out of her mouth. He snarled and then with narrowed eyes, studied her, as if seeing her for the first time.  
  
  
She controlled her breathing and told herself not to panic; it wasn't clear to her if their intent was to harm her or not. Don't show the enemy what he wants to see. Someone told her that once, but she couldn't remember...  
What was with her memory loss? She tried to think of anything... anything that might lead to some clue to who she was. She could've sworn they would all hear the pumping of her frantic heart by now... though it was strange--it didn't feel as if she even had a heart. She had never felt so dead and alive at the same time.  
  
  
Compelled more by necessity than curiosity, she raised her hands to a point where she could inspect them carefully. No.... This can't be! How is it that I'm one of them? I'm a robot! Why can't I remember anything that happened to me before? Why do I feel I was someone else before?  
  
"She looks..." a female voice-the hawk-began, searching for the right word, "...lost."   
  
"She?" repeated the mouse, sarcastically. "Eh, what makes you think it's a she?"  
  
"That's because I am." Her own soft voice surprised her.  
  
"Oh... heh heh," he chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry."  
  
The velociraptor-bot smiled thinly. "Ignore the vermin."  
  
She glanced around studying the animals curiously. They made a weird team, if they even were a team.   
  
"You are all... different, somehow..." she murmured stating the obvious.  
  
The monkey walked up to her. "Yes, we are the Maximals, Autobots from Cybertron. We had to take on the features of the animals of this world to avoid energon interference."  
  
That wasn't the answer she was looking for, but it was an answer. Still, it led to more questions.  
  
"Auto-bots? Cybertron?" she asked curiously. She'd heard of them somewhere, but she couldn't remember.  
  
The white tiger sighed. "Her memory circuits must have been damaged."  
  
The monkey transformed into a robot; her attention was shifted to him. "We are transformers... robots... just like you." He gestured for her to take a look for herself, but when she remained lying weak on the table, he decided to continue. "Cybertron is a planet far from here, in space and time. We came here pursuing Megatron--a Predacon--who wants to alter history so that the Decepticons win the war. And like I said before, we had to take on the shape of animals to escape the energon interference."  
  
"Energon..." she said weakly, then furrowed her brows in thought. "Ah, yes... element 315: exists in blue electric crystallize form in room temperature; highly unstable unless purified into molten state; interferes with any scanning device, communications device..." She recited from memory. But where had she learnt it?  
  
The rhinoceros and the monkey exchanged glances.  
  
"What was the last thing you remember, young one?" asked the monkey-bot slowly.  
  
"I... I don't remember... anything," she admitted softly. "Nothing at all...."  
  
An intense silence fell. They, contemplating whether she was their enemy or friend; and she, contemplating--   
  
"So, uh... you gotta name?" the mouse-bot asked curiously.  
  
--Who she was. She closed her eyes tightly, concentrating deeply. Now if only they would give her some peace, then maybe she could give them some answers. Name. That's where I should at least start. Opening her mind, she cleared a way to her memories-void memories, yet something existed there... something that contained who she was... no, who she is.   
  
And then it came to her.  
  
"Trini," she murmured so softly that the others could not catch it. "I am the Keeper of Time...."  
  
"Huh?" interrupted the mouse-bot rudely. "Whatzat? You're the...?"  
  
The velociraptor growled irritably at the mouse. "Shut up, fur-ball!"  
  
Trini sat up from the table, which they had placed her on for examination, strength suddenly renewed. She remembered bits and pieces of herself now, and it made her furious that she could not remember it all. Gazing around at the robots, looking at them as if for the first time, realizing that they were more than just machines.   
  
Her gaze met the monkey and a sad expression flickered briefly across his face. He knew who she was, Trini was sure of it. And she knew that he knew she did not belong with them--maybe not in this moment, but another. And in one blink everything around her dissolved into darkness. 


	2. The Trial

Chapter 2: The Trial  
  
She found herself floating in space. Again, she felt memories ripping from her mind, threatening to leave her alone in this empty place of eternal darkness. This cold, empty darkness; it chilled her to the core of her bones... yes, bones. Glancing down at her body, she saw that she was no longer a transformer. This was her true form... or was it?   
  
Shivering, she glanced around the emptiness nervously. What was she doing here? Strangely, however, she felt at home-no, not at home, near home-as if she were on her front porch. But why...?  
  
--And then the memories came. Like a dam breech during a heavy storm, a thundering rush of events in her life flowed through her consciousness. It was as if a huge block that had purposely been constructed to separate her conscious and unconscious mind had disappeared with a snap of a finger.   
  
The sudden flood of knowledge overwhelmed her mind painfully, and still something in her was used to it--used to this huge gathering of knowledge; something in her yearned for it--and more. Now, she remembered everything; the memories of herself, the memories of the duty she swore to uphold and preserve forever, the memories of the challenge. Yes, she remembered The Trial...  
  
"We had a deal!" a voice exploded in fury. "I challenged you, the Keeper of Time, to prove yourself in The Trial; to see if you are worthy enough to hold the position. You accepted the challenge yet you do not play by the rules. And so you failed...."  
  
Trini raised her head and glanced around. This place... so familiar, yes... this is my home!   
  
The voice sounded very smug. "You, the Keeper of Time failed your first scenario by going against the rules! Of all the Keepers, you are the one who should know the rules best. You're not fit to be the Keeper of Time... you're only fit to be the Keeper of Slag!"  
  
Slag? Trini frowned. What did scrap metal had to do with any of this? There wasn't even a position for Slag since... well, since for a long time. And Slag wasn't even the lowest a Keeper could go. Which hell century or hell planet did he/she pop up from?   
  
If only she hadn't left her precious key concealed on some remote planet where some fool could come stumbling over....  
  
"You dare blame me for not following the rules?!" Trini fired back, glancing dangerously to where she thought her opponent might be. She had never been so outraged in her life; she didn't bother to pause and allow her opponent to explain his/her accusation. "Coda 6 Section 1: When the Challenged One and the Challenger enter the play, they retain all memories of The Trial and begin fresh so as neither sides are suspicious of the newcomers.  
  
"Who was it that dumped me into a scenario half-conscious? Who was it that blocked most of my memories and left me like an empty shell?!" she sneered. "I let you set up the board, I let you set the pieces, and I let you set up the rules. I followed the bloody rules of the Coda; you didn't!"  
  
"Slag the Coda!" spat her opponent.  
  
A low growl escaped from Trini's throat. Not only was this fool trying to twist the rules; he/she was intent on ignoring the Coda. "How dare you!" she cried, almost shouting. She could have sworn that her opponent was smirking at this moment.   
  
"The Coda exists for a reason! The entire universe is based upon these rules set by the Ancient Keepers," Trini explained for the sake of his/her ignorance. "I don't care which far-out astral time plane you come from. I don't even give a damn how you managed to find the Key of the TimeKeeper; but this Trial will be based on the Coda as stated in the Coda. Nobody disregards the Coda. Nobody."  
  
"I make my own rules here," insisted her opponent. "But if you're so insistent on following that old book, then it'll be your loss."  
  
Trini frowned then smiled thinly. "You've not read the entire Coda, have you?"  
  
"I've read what I need to know about The Trial; that's all I need to know," he/she gloated.  
  
"You're an ignorant fool," she jeered. "You don't even know what kind of power you're dealing with!"  
  
"Oh, but I do! I'll have the power to control time; I'll have the power to do anything. I'll make myself the leader of Cybertron... no, I'll make myself God!" he/she cried with anticipation holding up the Key of the TimeKeeper triumphantly. It began to glow brilliantly as if there was a powerful force contained within. Trini stood awed; in all her time as the Keeper of Time, this had never happened before. She had always treated the Key as just some symbol of her position; the other Keepers would be astounded to know about this, if she survived to tell them, that is.  
  
Beams of white-gold light pierced the gold metal covering and traveled slowly through the vacuum-stretching out to Trini-calling to her. And at that moment the light touched her, Trini felt a wave of comforting warmth run through her. As soft and quick as the flutter of a butterfly's wing, it was gone again.   
  
But in the place of the beam of light that had touched her, a large ancient sacred sword floated horizontally spinning round and round, faster and faster. It whistled impossibly as it spun through vacuum, until it slowed and its bright brilliant silver blade pointed defiantly at her opponent. Then without warning, the sword sped towards the shadow that was her opponent, whistling again, and then vanished into thin air just as it touched his/her chest.   
  
"You have been warned," she whispered mysteriously to him/her, watching the ancient magical sword in wonder. These swords were a myth, used in waging of the Great War fought before the universe was form-long before time existed; so how was it that there was one before her just now?  
  
Her opponent gulped, clutching the Key as if it would protect him/her. "Don't pull any slaggin' tricks; I have the Key...."  
  
"The Key will not aid you should the universe decide that you are unworthy of life," she answered, almost sadly, in return.  
  
"Alright, alright," grumbled her opponent, his/her nervousness carefully hidden. "We'll treat that round as a practice round... but the rules remain as they are. In the scenarios that I set, you must defeat all your ally's enemies; revealing anything to do with the Keeper of Time or the Key will result in your immediate loss. If you win outta three rounds, I step down; if you lose, I become the new Keeper of Time!" He/she chuckled happily.  
  
Trini narrowed her eyes into the darkness that hid her opponent, rage filling every part of her body and soul. "It's a deal," she found herself saying. 


	3. Rebirth

Chapter 3: Coming of the Fuzors Part 1 - Rebirth  
  
Tigatron peered into the stasis pod as Air Razor stood guard.  
  
"Well?" Air Razor asked impatiently. The hawk hated the swamplands; she was only here to accompany Tigatron in retrieval of stasis pods. If it weren't for the stasis pod in this region, she wouldn't even be in here-not even for all the energon in the world.  
  
Her tiger friend shock his head worriedly then stepped back from the stasis pod and transformed into robot mode. "This does not look good," he replied already working his way through the complex wiring of the pod.  
  
Air Razor preened her feathers and looked inquisitively at Tigatron. "What seems to be the problem?"  
  
"I--" he started, but was cut off when the pod's cover suddenly lifted and thick white smoke flowed out of it like a witch's cauldron. Air Razor quickly transformed and stood behind her friend awaiting patiently for the smoke to clear to reveal their new comrade. Now this was something to be forward to, she thought eagerly. Tigatron frowned and waved his hands trying to clear the smoke quickly. Tigatron gasped in shock as Air Razor peered from over his shoulder... into an empty statis pod!  
  
"I don't understand," said Tigatron. "There was a protoform in there a millicycle ago."  
  
Air Razor raised a brow curiously. "Perhaps there's something wrong with your optics," she suggested.  
  
"No," Tigatron insisted. "There was a protoform."  
  
Air Razor knew best not to argue; if Tigatron said there had been a protoform, then there had been a protoform.  
  
As silence descended upon the couple, a thick moist fog settled in across the swampland, blocking out the sunlight. Just then, there was a soft whinny somewhere out beyond the mists. Tigatron and Air Razor exchanged glances then quickly went into position. Each turned such that they would be covering each other's backs.  
  
"Switch to infrared," Air Razor said, knowing Tigatron was probably already doing the same thing. "That way we'd see it through this mist."  
  
It didn't take the pair long to find the animal. As they approached the animal, they realized immediately that this was no ordinary animal--it was their missing protoform!   
  
The animal-protoform whinnied again, in pain. Air Razor approached it cautiously with her hands spread out, showing that she meant no harm.  
  
"I see the problem," she said after she had carefully circled the animal. "It's hind legs have sunken deep into the mud."  
  
Tigatron nodded and then he, too, approached the beast. It was a magnificent animal; a gleaming white horse with silver mane tumbling down its neck, a golden horn spiraling out of its head, and its strong wings furiously beating the air to free itself from the swampy soil. Smiling, Tigatron place a hand on the neck of the beast and stroked the animal's strong neck.  
  
"We mean you no harm," the Tiger whispered.  
  
The horse stomped its front leg and tossed its flowing mane in the air. Then to Tigatron's surprise, the winged horse placed its cheek upon the Tiger's as if to say I know.  
  
"Well, come on, Tigatron," ordered Air Razor who stood knee deep in mud, her hands covered in lumpy mud, "help me out here."  
  
The pair dug furiously for what seemed like an entire solar cycle when at last, the winged horse gave a final strong beat to its wings and lifted itself into the air. Tigatron gave a whoop of victory as Air Razor groaned at the filth that covered her from head to toe.... And then both watched in utter surprise as their protoform flew further away from them, disappearing through the mist.   
  
Air Razor quickly started up her jets but found them clogged with mud. Unable to fly in robot mode, she switched swiftly to her hawk form. However, as hard as she could flap her wings, she found in dismay that the mud on her feathers had already harden making her wings heavy and sticky, preventing her take off. She shook her head solemnly at Tigatron.  
  
Tigatron sighed. "Guess we'd better contact Base and tell them of the protoform."  
  
Air Razor nodded then frowned. "Curious, I've not seen any winged horses throughout my travels, have you?"  
  
"I don't think so," he answered thoughtfully.  
  
"I wonder how it"--she jerked her head in the direction of their disappearing protoform--"came about," Air Razor said.  
  
Tigatron stared off into the mists and clouds that hid the fleeing winged horse. "I don't know," he whispered. "I don't know..." 


	4. Transmetalized

Chapter 4: Coming of the Fuzors Part 2 - Transmetalized  
  
"Oh-kay, people, listen up," Rattrap announced, unconsciously admiring his new transmetal look. "Here's the situation; number one, we've lost Optimus Prime that means leadership falls on Rhinox and that leads us to problem number two: Rhinox is out chasing stars."  
  
"I should be leader now," Dinobot cut in hurriedly, teeth bared, ready to snarl at any opposing him.  
  
"Hey, I don't remember anybody giving you the option." Rattrap argued. "I don't like this than any of you, but looks like I'll have to be in charge now."  
  
Dinobot snarled angrily and lounged for the little transmetal mouse, claws and teeth bared.  
  
"Stop it you two!" cried Cheetor as he stepped in front of his friend and faced the velociraptor. "We've got enough trouble as it is."  
  
Rattrap sighed. "Eh, the pussy-cat's right," he said. "Any minute now we'll have Preds charging down our front door."  
  
"Tell me that's all the problem we have," pleaded Cheetor.  
  
"Sorry, kid, we've also got a protoform lose on this planet," informed the mouse.  
  
"Maximal or Predacon?" Dinobot asked curiously.  
  
Rattrap bowed his head and swiped his right foot across the floor. "We, uh, don't know yet."  
  
Dinobot rolled his eyes. "Don't you know anything?" he demanded.  
  
"Hey, I wasn't there!" Rattrap shot back.  
  
"Guys!" Cheetor exploded then turned to Rattrap. "What's the deal with this new protoform anyway?"  
  
"Yes, why wasn't I informed about this new protoform?" demanded Dinobot suspiciously.  
  
The transmetal mouse shrugged and gestured toward the communications console. "I heard it from Tigatron and Air Razor."  
  
Cheetor snapped to attention. "Tigatron? Air Razor? Where are they?"  
  
"Oh, out in the swamplands somewhere," Rattrap said off-handedly. "'Seems they located a protoform out there. Tigatron said that part of its program was scrambled in the crash and when he tried reprogramming the controls so that it could download a beast form, the protoform just got up and walked right out of the stasis pod-all ready in beast mode!"  
  
"Any idea what it even looks like?" asked Dinobot, his voice dripping with sarcasm.  
  
Rattrap glanced annoyingly at the velociraptor. "No, I don't know," he retorted, his eyes glowing red with anger. "Tigatron's signal was cut off either 'cause of our damn equipment or some slaggin' interference; I couldn't get anymore information outta him."  
  
Dinobot's head bobbed in acknowledgement but remained silent.  
  
"Did you inform them of our situation...?" asked Cheetor hesitantly, predicting the answer already.  
  
Rattrap shook his head slowly. "Sorry kiddo, had I known that signal would've died on me, I'd have spit it out sooner."  
  
They all knew what hung on each other's minds. With Rhinox gone chasing stars; Optimus presumed dead; and Tigatron and Air Razor out looking for stasis pods, the Maximals were sitting on the losing end of the Beast Wars. The remaining Maximals exchanged dreary looks. If Megatron decided to strike now-and they know he would...  
  
If only Optimus hadn't insisted on being the one to carry out that mission. If only someone could have prevented Megatron's interference with the pod. If only... Cheetor sighed sadly. This was not a time to brood over the past; well at least Rattrap and he were transmetalized.   
  
"Oh man," gulped Rattrap, "we're all gonna die."  
  
Dinobot glared over at mouse and then let out a rage of anger, his claws shaking in frustration. "Megatron...!" he growled in distaste. And with that he left thundering down the hallways into the armory, leaving Rattrap and Cheetor in charge of repairs.   
  
  
  
The war had raged on for a full cycle. It didn't take a genius to figure out who was winning the battle: the Predacons. They were winning by a long shot-what with their two new fuzor members-it was hardly a fair competition; but war was war and there were no rules in war.  
  
Dinobot growled in frustration as he took cover behind a large boulder. Rattrap came diving in and landed at the velociraptor's feet, gasping for breath. Cheetor was behind another boulder shooting rounds of phaser-fire at the transmetal Megatron.  
  
"Man," moaned Rattrap, "looks like we weren't the only ones to get a new look."  
  
The velociraptor snarled irritably at the rodent and gripped his double-edged sword tightly, fighting the urge to charge blindly. He was a warrior. No, he is a warrior; he lived to fight-and fight was the only thing he lived for. Period.  
  
Just as Dinobot began to lunge for Megatron, Rattrap gripped his shoulder tightly.  
  
"Flyers!" cried the transmetal mouse, pointing frantically at Waspinator and Inferno who were heading straight for their unguarded base.  
  
Dinobot snarled and began running back to their base in hot pursuit, his eyes blasting green laser-fire at the bugs. Rattrap was on the run too, blindly firing rounds at the wasp and fire ant. Suddenly, Cheetor, with his new jets roaring, swooped overhead the running velociraptor and mouse.  
  
"I'll take care of the bugs!" he cried over his jets. "Just keep Megatron's new flying friend off my tail."  
  
"Easy for you to say, pussy-cat," Rattrap muttered under his breath. "You don't have the rest of Meg's ground troops to take care of."  
  
With that the transmetal mouse and velociraptor peeled off from their pursuit and took cover behind separate boulders, facing their enemies once again. The first target Rattrap focused on was the new flying fuzor-a half-bird, half-dog Predacon. Actually, he was a wolf with wings and talons for his front legs, but Rattrap wasn't paying much attention to details. All he knew was that Bird-dog could fly, and anything that flies was an immediate threat. However, Dinobot did not seem to be interested in strategy for the velociraptor was firing madly at Megatron.  
  
"Hey Chopper-face!" Rattrap cried out. "Take down the Bird-dog first will ya?"  
  
Dinobot remained silent; his target still fixed on Megatron.  
  
The transmetal mouse groaned inwardly. Why wouldn't he just listen to him, just once? Rattrap glanced over at Dinobot then without thinking he scrambled quickly over to the velociraptor.  
  
"Hey!" Rattrap cried again-this time into the velociraptor's face. "The Bird-dog first, eh? Megatron can wait for his turn."  
  
Dinobot snarled at the mouse, his face twisted in anger. "Go away, vermin."  
  
"Look, if that Bird-dog decides to head for the skies, we won't have a chance to take him down. If we can't take him down, he's gonna take the base. No base, no Maximals, capeesh? Megatron, on the other hand, can't fly--" Rattrap stopped then and gawked passed the raptor. "--Oh slag!"  
  
Dinobot whipped his head around. The velociraptor's eyes widened as the purple transmetal T-rex hovered above the ground and flew straight for the two Maximals, with the rest of the Predacons at his flank. 


	5. Revelation and Deception

Chapter 5: Coming of the Fuzors Part 3 - Revelation and Deception  
  
Cheetor was having a blast. Taking down the deranged fire ant had been fun--not to mention easy. Now he had to take care of the wasp. He just hoped his friends could hold out as long as they could. The transmetal cheetah zipped past rock pillars when he sighted Waspinator dead ahead; his back facing Cheetor. The cat's mouth pulled back in a half-snarl, half-grin. This was going to be as easy as crushing bugs, all he had to do was just get a little closer and-huh?   
  
Right after Cheetor came clear of another pillar, the wasp was no where in sight. Quickly, Cheetor did a wide sweep of the area, his eyes scanning for any movement. Where had the bug gone? He must be somewhere down low-blocked by these slaggin' arches--so that's why I can't spot him from up here.   
  
Cheetor dropped to all fours and transformed swiftly into robot mode, his phaser gun out, and ready. Suddenly, there was a series of shooting behind him. The transmetal cheetah pivoted, just in time to catch the wasp out of the corner of his eye. But even before Cheetor could raise his gun, he felt a blast hit him square on his chest.  
  
"Ahhhhh!" cried out Cheetor as he collapsed heavily onto the boulder behind him.  
  
Looking up, the cheetah saw that he was definitely in-for-it this time-Cheetor was in Waspinator's direct line of fire. If the wasp couldn't slag the cheetah, then it would be a miracle. Cheetor froze, not knowing what to do.... And then a miracle happened!  
  
From behind Waspinator came the new Predacon flying-dog, his talons out-stretched and poised. Waspinator didn't even see the dog coming; and the last thing the wasp felt was the death-defying grip of the Bird-dog's claws, threatening to tear Waspinator limb from limb. Stunned, Cheetor stood uneasily and watched as the dog landed beside him and transformed.  
  
"I'm not a Predacon," the dog said bluntly. "I cannot be a Predacon; their way of fighting is not just. I wish to fight along with you."  
  
"Umm... sure," said Cheetor uncertainly. He shifted his foot uncomfortably, unsure of what to do or say. "I'm Cheetor," he said finally extending a hand.  
  
The dog inclined his head politely and shook the cheetah's hand. "And I am Silverbolt," he replied proudly.  
  
But before either of them could say anything else, a green laser beam cut in between the fuzor and transmetal cheetah.  
  
"Get away from him!" screamed Rattrap at the top of his lungs with Dinobot running just behind the motor-mouse.  
  
"Wait!" exclaimed Cheetor, stepping defiantly in front of his new friend. "He's one of us now."  
  
"Yeah?" puffed Rattrap as he reached the cheetah. "Then why haven't you changed your activation codes?" he demanded.  
  
Silverbolt cleared his throat embarrassingly. [[Changing activation codes to Maximal signature]]  
  
Dinobot studied the winged dog suspiciously. "How would we know you will not betray us?"  
  
"Well, look who's talking," said Cheetor surprisingly sarcastic. But he had his reason; Silverbolt had just saved him from being scrap metal.  
  
"Look, people, enough already!" said Rattrap in exasperation. He looked at Silverbolt, studying his character; then gazed pointedly at Dinobot. "I say he's in. That's two outta three votes taken--if you can't count. Now could we just get on wit da fight?!"  
  
Dinobot growled silently, but didn't find any reason to object; the winged-dog seemed sincere enough.  
  
"By the way, you gotta name Bird-dog?" asked Rattrap curiously.   
  
"Silverbolt," replied the fuzor crisply.  
  
Suddenly, from afar series of thundering gunshots were heard by the four Maximals.  
  
"The base!" cried Cheetor in shock.  
  
"Slag!" muttered Rattrap, transforming into beast mode. "Alright Bird-dog, Cheetor, take the skies! Dinobot, you and I--"  
  
But Dinobot was already charging head-on towards the unguarded Maximal base without waiting to hear out Rattrap's orders. The transmetal mouse sighed as he charged up his engines and tore down the desert landscape. Someday, he was going to show that ex-Pred just who's boss...  
  
  
  
"Predacons," Megatron bellowed, "full assault!"  
  
The leader of the Predacons laughed gleefully as his army blasted the Maximal's unguarded base. Nothing could get sweeter than this-well, nothing except for taking out the Maximals once and for all.  
  
Just as they had begun to seriously weaken the shields, the Predacon leader spotted something gleaming in the sky. It was no cloud or star.... It had metal-a transformer! And it was definitely not on of his.  
  
"What's this?" Megatron inquired aloud. "Ah yessss, another desperate attempt to stop the inevitable."  
  
He looked down at his troops, for the first time realizing that Inferno, Waspinator and the new guy --what's his name?-- ah, something-bolt, were missing. Megatron frowned, his two-fingered hands tapping in contemplation.  
  
"Tarantulas!" he barked, knowing quite well that he couldn't leave the treacherous spider alone without anything to do. "Take out that meddlesome maximal."  
  
Of course he would have to send in someone else to finish the job. Spiders can never be trusted...  
  
"But Megatron," protested Tarantulas, "I can't even see where it is."  
  
Megatron sighed inwardly. "You have your orders," he pressed. "Take - it - out - now."  
  
"Yes, Megatron..."  
  
Tarantulas hated Megatron; despised him, even. He grumbled something about slagging the overgrown purple raptor once and for all; but he couldn't, he had other things to do--other important things to do. The tarantulas scuttled away from Megatron and moved closer to get an easier target at the little speck in the sky.  
  
"Tarantulas terrorize!"  
  
Throwing a quick glance over his shoulder, Tarantulas saw that Megatron was busy laying siege on the Maximal base. Quickly, he linked up to Blackarachnia, who was still at the Predacon base. This link had been accidental but has proven most useful for he could get into the head of his pretty little 'partner.'  
  
"Blackarachnia..." sang out the spider.  
  
Silence.  
  
"Blackarachnia!" hissed Tarantulas; he was getting very annoyed.  
  
There was static and then a curse. "What do you want? I'm busy!"  
  
"The datatrax!" whispered Tarantulas impatiently. "What have you found?"  
  
"I haven't got to them yet," replied Blackarachnia coldly. "Now, if you'll stop getting in my head maybe I can make some progress here."  
  
"Hurry she-spider, or else..." taunted the tarantula.  
  
"Isn't Megatron keeping you busy or something?" Blackarachnia muttered when she thought he was gone.  
  
"I heard that," chuckled Tarantulas acidly. "Just do your job, she-spider."  
  
"Alright, I'm in Megatron's system."  
  
"Good, now search for anything to do with a 'Golden Disk,' or disks." Tarantulas knew that Megatron had somehow come into possession of these ancient artifacts and he was dying to know what they were--and more importantly, what they could do.  
  
"What?!" cried Blackarachnia. "Of all things, you're looking up information on disks?"  
  
"Just do it," said Tarantulas tiredly.  
  
"Oh-kay..." answered the black widow trying not to sound as if she were talking to an insane Predacon.  
  
[[De-encrypting and downloading datatrax: Golden Disk]]  
  
"Yes!" hissed Tarantulas as he began downloading the information through the link with Blackarachnia.  
  
Suddenly there was phaser-fire from above. It sounded close; too close. Tarantulas glanced skyward and that's when he saw a shadow coming down around him-a huge shadow. Quickly he turned around, a handgun out and ready.  
  
"Nooo!" Tarantulas' shrill cry echoed in his own ears as a boulder came crashing down on him.  
  
Back at the Predacon base, Blackarachnia had de-encrypted half of the datatrax for Tarantulas, scanning as well as sending, when she realized that she was suddenly sending it to no one. She paused for awhile.  
  
"Tarantulas?" she ventured.  
  
Silence. She had expected something like "Just keep downloading, she-spider."  
  
"Hey, Tarantulas..." Now it was her turn to sing. Blackarachnia frowned when she got no reply; not even one of those cyber-shocks that Tarantulas loved to send over.  
  
"Yo!" she cried impatiently. "Big overgrown and hairy!?"  
  
Good he's gone... for now. She terminated the download on the Golden Disk and then went searching for more important things; like the reason Megatron would want to risk everything on this lousy planet. The black widow surfed around before she stumbled on some heavily encrypted file. What's this? Blackarachnia thought curiously, already preparing for the download. Ah, Megatron, it seems you've got your own secret agenda...  
  
[[De-encrypting and downloading datatrax: The Arc]] 


	6. (Chapter 6 New Acquaintance)

Chapter 6: Coming of the Fuzors Part 4 - New Acquaintance  
  
Chaos.  
  
That was the only word to describe the scene.  
  
She had entered the battle late; but it wasn't too late to save her side. At least her opponent had actually given her side a chance of winning. It was weird being a robot, ahem, a transformer even. So many new functions to use and explore, so little time. Well, a least she'd learnt how to transform and use her robot mode... still it would be more beneficial if she knew the extents of her capabilities.  
  
Her mission was short and simple: Get in there, gun down her enemies and force them into full retreat. Sure, no sweat...   
  
Yeah, right.  
  
Another series of bullets streamed toward her. Too slow, she scoffed as she banked to her left. As she moved, she caught sight of a transformer--a spider, from the look of it--nestled under the cover of some boulders. Friend or foe? she wondered. Alright, let's see if I can get my systems to scan its signature.  
  
[[Predacon signature detected]]  
  
Ah, that was easy! Not to mention fast... so where's the hitch? There was always a hitch that was attached to these strange events; it's always when things are going so smoothly when something unexpected pops right up... usually something bad.   
  
She flew in for a closer target lock. This is too easy! She thought. It's not even aware that I'm here!... so where's that friggin' hitch?  
  
[[Target locked]]  
  
She hovered in the air for awhile. All she needed to do was squeeze her trigger, yet something bothered her. Then it hit her: What if it's on her side? Swell, she didn't even know whose side she was on!   
  
  
"...we are the Maximals."  
  
  
It was her memory of the monkey-bot's voice. She frowned. So was he friend or foe? She was definitely going no where fast and she had to make a choice now.  
  
Suddenly, there was phaser-fire off her port side. A sharp pain snaked down her left shoulder, and then... she squeezed the trigger to her gun. She heard a distant cry, followed by a thud and the next thing she knew she was losing altitude.  
  
Help! Holy cow, the bloody ground's coming up real fast...!  
  
She transformed quickly into beast mode and spread her wings wide, knowing that she'd just been made a big target to her enemies, but getting to the ground safely was her main priority. Her wings strained painfully as she tried to pull up into a glide instead of a plunge. Still, the ground was closing in way too fast.   
  
Up! her mind screamed.  
  
She closed her eyes tightly, expecting the impact any second now. Any second now.... Now?  
  
Forcing an eye open, she looked fearfully around her. Tops of trees brushing past, a cliff wall rushing dreadfully closer, a quartet of transformers heading at top speed in her opposite direction.... Wait, what was that? A cliff wall?! Pull up!  
  
The wind screamed in her delicate ears as she strained her wings again. She brushed against the wall of the cliff as she tucked in her four legs. Her mane and tail whipped about furiously... and then she was clear and above the cliff. She let out a huge breath of relief just as another round of phaser-fire lashed towards her. Quickly, she transformed into robot mode again, her sleek gold horn becoming a brilliant death-yielding three-pronged trident. Now she was mad.  
  
Growling distastefully she brought her gleaming sword over her head and charged back to the source. There, in the trees! A green and gold scorpion with a cobra hand. No matter how much she was a transformer now, she still couldn't get used to these weird transformations. How one thing can become another so quickly was out of her imagination. She wondered what Cobra-hand was like in beast mode....  
  
Another round of green blasts, and she was doing aerial-stunts. Cobra-hand laughed maniacally firing round after round of phaser-fire-all of which she dodged easily. And suddenly, the phaser-fire seized; Cobra-hand was gone! She frowned and increased the magnification of her vision. He was just gone.... Oh well, she thought, as she veered off and headed toward the base.  
  
"Hey!" piped a voice below her. "Aren't you even gonna stick around to thank us?"  
  
She stopped so fast that she somersaulted in midair. "Wha--?"  
  
A velociraptor stepped out of the brush. "There is no 'us.' You had no part of it, vermin."  
  
"Well, excussse me..." said the rat from behind a boulder.  
  
A lock of silvery hair blew across her face and suddenly she felt unsure. "Who are you?" She asked as she hovered close to the ground, but fair out of their reach. She recognized the two Maximals from her "practice round." But for the sake of the game, she had to act ignorant.  
  
"Who are you?" the velociraptor shot back fiercely.  
  
She looked at the two and then gestured back to the base. "Your base?"  
  
"Yeah," answered the rat, then whispered eagerly to the velociraptor: "That's our 'lost' protoform! I'll handle this the Maximal way."  
  
The velociraptor snarled ignorantly, and then looked up at her. She was a magnificent warrior; he could tell she was a warrior. Her firm stance, her alert eyes, her hard-set face... they all gave way their secret. She was so familiar to him.... Perhaps it was she he saw looking back every time he caught his own reflection; only she was a female, and he was not, obviously.  
  
"...You're a maximal... one of us," the rat was saying, but she wasn't paying attention either as she studied the velociraptor as he studied her in turn.  
  
"Come," was all Dinobot needed to say and she nodded, flapping her angelic wings.  
  
The rat gaped as the new bot took off with the charging ex-Pred.   
  
"Dang it! Dis just ain't my day...." he grumbled unhappily as he rolled off after them.  
  
  
Stalemate.  
  
It was a beautiful sunset, but she paid no attention to it. Looking around her she saw that the Maximals were down to four: the rat, velociraptor, cheetah, and a new winged wolf. Had she known that an all-out battle was to be fought at the precise second she'd entered the game, she'd have helped the tiger and the hawk to the battlefield.   
  
She wondered what happened to the rhinoceros and monkey, but she really did not bother pondering further for the Maximals and the Predacons were at a face off.   
  
  
It was like a clip from an old Earth Western cowboy movie. Trini smiled at the irony; western cowboy movies would be a thing of the future from where she was. Five against five, and no one was budging; any side could win. It was then that Trini began to seriously doubt about her deal with her opponent.  
  
  
"Surrender Maximals!" bellowed the leader of the Predacons.  
  
The velociraptor growled distastefully, though he was in a very bad shape. She could see active sparks spiking at odd intervals.  
  
"You sure you're up to this?" she asked softly.  
  
"I am a warrior," he hissed back, not bothering to look at her.  
  
  
And so, upon a mysterious secret timing, the war began again. Trini had always wondered what it was like to be part of a face-off. How did the cowboys know when to draw just by staring into their opponent's eye? But here she was, feeling every second of thrill and danger. She looked into the eyes of the Predacon across from her, a red fire-ant, she knew it was itching to wreck havoc, to destroy them once and for all. There was only one rule: the ultimate fight to the end.  
  
  
Just as she drew her twisted gold trident, all hell broke loose. Literally. The exchange of laser fire began instantly. Missiles of all kinds were launched, and she did her best to avoid any. The next thing she knew she was face-to-face with the fire-ant, who was spitting his flame-thrower at her.   
  
  
Note to Readers - Like I said before... the ending is finished, and the middle part needs a lot more work. Please be patient ;) If anyone wants to bug me for the ending, feel free to email me ^_^ 


End file.
